#38: Bottle Shock

France's position as the world's top wine producer was unchallenged until 1976, when the Montelena Winery put California wines permanently on the map. Director Randall Miller's film chronicles the heady early days of Napa Valley's rocket to success. Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, Eliza Dushku, Bill Pullman and Freddy Rodriguez star in this tale of dreamers who dared to challenge the establishment.

Though I wanted to love this film, all I can muster is appreciation that I read the book, and disappointment that the film didn't fully respect it. Just go read the book (Judgment of Paris): it's more educational and entertaining.

#35: 2 Days in Paris (2007)

#1: Into Great Silence (2005)

Buzz: Documentary of life in an isolated monastery in northern France. Very very very long.

My reaction: The film is gorgeous, but it's painfully slow and intense, and tested the limits of my cinematic patience. It wasn't a great choice for a day cooped-up in the house with a cold -- I'm already too aware of the time passing, and keeping this up for more than 2 1/2 hours was nearly unbearable (though I did... mostly out of a sense of loyalty and first-day-motivation re: the project). Though I can appreciate the film, that appreciation ended about 40 minutes in. Not exactly an exciting start to the project.

film 1 / day 1